If we want a healthy body and mind, the first step is to observe and understand how they work. We really understand very little about our own bodies and minds. We know that cellular metabolism does not stop for a moment, but we do not actually sense it. We seldom think about how the food we eat affects our health. We seldom pay attention to how many thoughts come and go in a single day or even in a minute. At the end of the day, we may have some impressions of a few major concerns we may have dwelt upon, but we are never clear about the actual number of thoughts in our mind at any given moment. More...

Ensuring a Healthy Body and Mind- II

The demands of life can tax our brains and bodies. When we react with strong emotions, whether wild excitement or violent rage, blood vessels constrict, pulse rate quickens, blood pressure increases, and we breathe more rapidly. All of these factors can lead to such conditions as cerebral hemorrhage, insomnia, palpitations, tinnitus, neurosis, and indigestion. When we experience severe emotions, endocrine gland functioning becomes imbalanced, and toxins are produced in the blood. More...

The Buddha Mind, Universe, and Awakening- A Shocking Experience in the Universe - I

Prof. Yeh:Among Dr. Edgar Mitchell's many accomplishments, the most important one is that he was the sixth person to land on the moon. Why do we say it is his most important accomplishment? On his way back to the earth, when he saw that the earth was so small, while the whole universe was so vast, he suddenly underwent a special experience. After he returned to the earth, he couldn't understand this kind of experience for a long time. As a scientist, because he couldn't explain such an experience in a scientific way, he set up a research institute to focus on researches on the relationship between science and spirituality.

Master Sheng Yen is the first person to advocate the concept of Protecting the Spiritual Environment in the world. Over the decades, he has been promoting the vision of "uplifting the character of humanity and building a pure land on earth." He was selected by Common Wealth Magazine as one of the 50 most influential persons in Taiwan in the past 400 years.

Dr. Mitchell, I think one of the epiphanies you have experienced is when you came back from the moon. You experienced some earth-shattering, mind-boggling experience. Can you share that in brief, so that maybe Master Sheng Yen can respond from a Buddhist point of view? More...

Scientist's View on MeditationThe physiological and psychological benefits of meditation derive from concentrating the mind, either on an abstract or concrete object. This is best accomplished through seated meditation.

There have been many studies of the benefits of seated meditation in general and Chan specifically. According to Zen no susume (The Recommendation of Zen) by Dr. Kōji Satō, Professor of Psychology at Kyoto University in Japan, regular practice of Chan meditation produces the following ten psychological and physiological effectsMore...